With a now permanent medical marijuana program in place and an adult-use market set to launch on New Year’s Day, Illinois is primed for a cannabis industry takeoff. As entrepreneurs across the state put the pieces in place for their budding ventures, it’s critical to address compliance concerns from the start — and avoid potentially costly disruptions down the road.

For those looking to get in on the Illinois cannabis retail market, the right technology can help you not only stay compliant with regulation, but also streamline your operation for maximum efficiency while offering unparalleled customer experience.

Below, we’re answering the top five compliance questions related to operating a cannabis dispensary in Illinois.

Top 5 Illinois Cannabis Retail Compliance Questions Answered

1. Who can purchase cannabis in Illinois?

For now, only qualifying patients who hold a valid Medical Cannabis Patient ID card and their registered caregivers can purchase medical marijuana in Illinois. However, beginning January 1, 2020, adults aged 21 and older will be able to purchase cannabis from licensed retailers.

To protect themselves and their customers by ensuring they only sell to qualified patients and adults, licensed medical marijuana dispensaries and adult-use retailers can verify customer information using Cova’s ID scanners. In addition to preventing a major compliance infraction, these scanners enhance customer experience by expediting the check-in process and ensuring a seamless transaction.

2. What are the legal purchase and possession limits for patients and adults in Illinois?

For medical marijuana patients, the purchase limit is 2.5 ounces of cannabis flower every 14 days. Concentrates, edibles, and other non-flower cannabis products are measured by the pre-weight of the flower used to make the product, which counts toward the purchase limit.

On the recreational side, Illinois has not yet set the purchase limits for adults; however, the law states that residents aged 21 and older will be allowed to possess 30 grams of cannabis flower, no more than 500 milligrams of THC contained in cannabis-infused product, and five grams of cannabis concentrate. Non-residents aged 21 and older will be authorized to possess 15 grams of cannabis flower, 250 milligrams of infused product, and 2.5 grams of concentrate.